Their lightweight, no-frills 2+2 rear-wheel-drive sports cars were born in 2012 to rekindle the spirit of the Toyota AE86, among other purposes. They also tried to put a damper on ever-higher prices for such sports cars in a bid to recapture some of the lost audience. Of course, with both models now in their second-generation forms, it’s clear that Toyota and Subaru deemed the BRZ and the newly renamed GR 86 successful enough to warrant the research and development effort. Naturally, some corners were also cut for the project to make sense from an economic standpoint.
And, with the 2022 Toyota GR 86 finally official, it’s time for one of the first head-on encounters that we know about, brought to us from Japan by local YouTube channel Lovecars!TV! Naturally, the drivers aren’t speaking English, but we advise turning on the auto-translated closed captioning function if you’re interested in what they have to say.
With the 2022 BRZ and 2022 GR 86 not yet available at U.S. dealerships, it was virtually impossible to see this encounter on American soil, and frankly, we lack the patience of waiting a few good months until they hit North American soil.
For now, this track encounter will suffice, especially since the two drivers try their best to be as thorough as possible, and they swap cars to make sure they have direct feedback to form their opinion.
Interestingly, it’s rather obvious that Toyota and Subaru diligently worked on instilling the GR 86 and BRZ with their own personalities, especially when it comes to handling. Otherwise, the main differentiating factor is the exterior styling, as the boxer engine and most of the interior get shared pretty indiscriminately.
Just like many other automakers, Toyota and Subaru have been tied for years, thanks to certain projects. We’re all eagerly awaiting their fully electric e-TNGA sport utility vehicles, but in the meantime, let’s get back to their most popular collaboration to …
